In general, most windows include both a sash and a frame. The sash is the structure in which the panes of glass are set and which forms the moveable part of the window. The frame is the fixed structure fitted within a wall opening in which the sash is placed.
Most windows are constructed entire of wood or enterily of metal, vinyl, or other nonwood material. Both wood and nonwood windows have their respective advantages and disvantages. Wood windows are generally preferred for their pleasing appearance and their ability to be painted or stained to coordinate with interior decor. Wood windows also provide superior insulation over metal and similar nonwood windows. However, wood windows generally require significantly more external maintenace than metal and other nonwood windows.
Various attempts have been made to combine the beneficial features of wood and nonwood windows. Generally, these attempts have involved putting a metal or vinyl covering or cladding on the outside of a wood window or, conversely, putting a wood cladding on the inside of a nonwood window. Considering the cladding problems inherent in window designs such as single and double hung windows, slider windows, and windows in which the sash pivots inwardly, there have been other attempts to obtain the pleasing interior appearance of a wood window by merely simulating wood grain in vinyl extrusions. These various attempts have met with limited success.
The present invention is directed to an improved wood cladding or decorative facing for the interior surfaces of a nonwood window. The invention is particularly applicable to casement, awning, and fixed windows. Because of the significant structural and operating differences between these window types and conventional double hung windows, sliding windows, and windows that swing inwardly, the present invention is not particularly suited to these latter types of windows.
Windows that slide from side to side horizontally, windows that are of the hung-type and open and close vertically, and windows that are hinged and open toward the inside of the building are usually built using a variety of different shapes and extrusions to construct the overall window unit. In these windows the sash is inserted and removed from the inside. It is very difficult to use wood cladding on the interior of these styles of windows due the nature of their operation and the close tolerances between window sections. The wood, having a minimal thickness of 1/4" for structural integrity, interferes with the operation and function of the window when applied to the interior surface. This renders sliding, hung, and inwardly opening windows non-functional and inoperable with the wood attached.
One approach to providing wood cladding on the interor surface of a metal double hung window is disclosed in Dunsmoor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,536. However, this cladding is exceptionally complex and costly to apply and requires alteration of the wall opening to accommodate the increased window dimensions. Additionally, the wood cladding forms part of the window, i.e., the window is not a complete, functional window without the wood cladding.
Windows which open outwardly and close by the sash moving from the outside to the inside, can more readily accommodate interior wood cladding than double hung windows because the former generally have a perimeter frame which provides a uniform interior surface and cross-section. These window types are primarily casement, which pivots around a vertical axis; awning, which pivots around a horizontal axis; and fixed or picture. These three primary window styles are constructed with the sash inserted into the frame from the outside. They operate differently from typical double hung, slider, and inwardly swinging windows. This makes interior cladding with wood according to the present invention both economically feasible and practical.
Currently, virtually all windows with wood interiors and vinyl, fiberglass, or aluminum exteriors are made in common, stock sizes. Because of the close size tolerances required during window replacement projects, these windows usually fit exactly into window openings only with the use of perimeter fillers, expanders, or additional wood trim to take up the space remaining between the new window and the existing opening. The use of perimeter frame expanders and fillers is highly undesirable to the increasingly sophisticated public, who wants a custom sized window with a wood interior, and a vinyl, fiberglass, or aluminum exterior.
The design of casement, awning, and fixed windows, whether of aluminum, vinyl, or fiberglass, is substantially universal. All four sides of the frame of each window type are identical in shape and have uniform cross sections. All four sides of the operable sash sections also are identical in shape and have uniform cross sections. The frame and sash sections are miter cut at 45.degree. and then are fastened together either mechanically with screws, chemically by heat-fusing such as welding, or with glue. This results in four sided rectangular frames and sashes of varying sizes. The only significant difference between outwardly opening casement and awning windows and fixed picture windows is in the operating hardware. The hardware includes a pair of slide hinges and a roto-gear type winder that opens and closes the window sash by turning. The picture window uses identical frame and sash sections, but does not use hinges or a gear operator. The sash simply is fixed in place, usually by screws, and does not open.
Casement and awning style windows have an offset, channel-like area located around the internal frame perimeter, in which concealed hinge-type hardware and operator arms are housed when the windows are closed. This channel keeps the hardware away from the operation of the sash and allows the window to open and close freely without interference. The hinge-type hardware and locking system are always mounted in this channel, which runs the entire perimeter of the frame.